How to Immigrate to Canada as a Pharmacist – Canada is a very wonderful country and at the moment, immigrating to Canada is becoming easy and fast as the country is looking to welcome over a 1.23million immigrants into the country within the next three years and if you are a pharmacist, you stand a chance of moving to Canada sooner than you expect.
You might be wondering why we say pharmacist can easily move to Canada, well pharmacists are one of the in-demand occupations in Canada and this is one of the criteria for immigrating to Canada. So if you are a pharmacist from any country, you are really lucky and you can start applying for your visa as you are likely to be invited into the country.
There are a lot of benefits you will stand to gain if you relocate to Canada ranging from high standard of living, better work condition, better education to security and good health care.
In this article, we will be showing you how to immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist so without further ado, let’s proceed.
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WHO IS A PHARMACIST?
A pharmacist is a health practitioner that offers medical services to people. A pharmacist is a health professional that helps people with minor health issues as they offer advice concerning health problems and also offer over-the-counter medicines for people with illnesses such as flu, sore throat, stomach ache and fever.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), “a pharmacist is defined as a person prepared to formulate, dispense and provide clinical information on drugs or medications to health professional and patients”.
A pharmacist is not a doctor or physician.
TYPES OF PHARMACIST
For you to immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist, you will have to apply for immigration under the following types of pharmacist. So let’s look at the types of pharmacists.
Retail pharmacist
A retail pharmacist is a person that provides general healthcare services and advice to the public and also supply prescriptions too. This type of pharmacist works in retail outlets and settings like pharmaceutical stores and supermarkets and not really in the hospitals. They check the prescriptions issued by the doctors or physicians before giving the medication or drugs to the patients so as to ensure that the patients don’t take the wrong dose of medicine. Merit-Based Scholarships for International Students at Hartwick College, USA
clinical pharmacist
a clinical pharmacist is a person that provides direct healthcare services to patients. They are charged with the responsibility of offering high quality healthcare services and also administer medications to patients by examining and evaluating the health conditions of the patients and also checking their medical history.
The clinical pharmacist work with the physicians, nurses and other health professionals. They often stay in the clinics or hospitals.
Hospital pharmacist
This type of pharmacist is charged with the responsibility of dispensing drugs and advising patients about how to take drugs which has been prescribed and in what dosage. They carry out their duties in the hospital setting and work with the physicians and nurses of that hospital.
They understand the use of medicine and their effects on the human body and so they tend to advice the patients on how to take the drugs. They work closely with the physician to make sure that patients receive the best treatment in the hospital. Scholarships For International Students At Bristol University, UK – 2022
Consultant pharmacist
This type of pharmacist works as a consultant and provide medical advice on the safe use of medicine to their patients. They evaluate how safe it will be to take the medicine that has being prescribed. They examine the benefits, risks and side effects of a prescribed medication based on the patient’s health history.
Community pharmacist
The community pharmacist is responsible for dispensing prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines to the public. They work in retail pharmaceutical stores, health centers, clinics, and large healthcare facilities. They tell patients how to use drugs and also answer questions from the patients.
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Industry pharmacist
This set of pharmacists works in the laboratory. They conduct research, test, and analyze medicines and ensure the production of medicines that are safe for use. They engage in the development of new medications and test other pharmaceutical products too.
WHAT ARE THE CANADIAN VISA PROGRAMS THAT YOU CAN APPLY FOR AS A PHARMACIST?
Like we have said earlier that we have over 90 visa programs that will help you immigrate to Canada but we will be looking at the three main visa programs that will help you immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist.
Express Entry Skilled Federal Worker Program
British Columbia Provincial Nominee program for healthcare professionals
Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program for in-demand Occupations
The Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program
With this program, you will be able to immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist. The program is an online program where you will be expected to create a profile and in this profile, you will be expected to fill in some information and meet the criteria. The criteria could be work experience, age, education, language proficiency, adaptability, etc. you will have to pass this criterion for you to qualify for the program.
You will also need to attach some documents when applying for this Express Entry program. These documents are:
Means of identification
Birth certificate or record
Medical clearance certificate
Language proficiency test results for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS ( International English Language Testing System)
Educational Credentials Assessment
Police clearance report
All the documents mentioned above are very important and they also determine your level of success in qualifying but the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is a very important document for you if you want to immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist. It proves that your educational qualification matches the Canadian standard. Once you apply for ECA, you don’t need to bother about taking an Evaluation Examination.
After creating your profile successfully, you will be placed in an Express Entry system pool with other candidates and everyone will be ranked based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) with a cut-off score that everyone candidate that wants to get an Invitation to Apply for Canadian visa will have to meet or exceed. Based on the profile you created, you will be given a CRS score to match with the CRS cut-off score. Your CRS score is based on your age, education, valid job offer, language proficiency, adaptability, and work experience.
The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program for healthcare professionals
This particular visa program is limited to a particular province and for healthcare professionals where pharmacists fall under. The British Columbia province is in charge of this program and sets its requirements for people that want to apply for a Canadian visa through this program. So if you are a pharmacist and you want to immigrate to Canada, this is your chance to go at it.
You can also get permanent residence in Canada using this program. You will need to apply for this program online and you will be applying to the program so that you get nominated to immigrate to the province but mind you, you are doing this through the healthcare professional platform.
For you to go through this program, you will have to:
Qualify for one of the three Federal programs through EE
Have at least two years’ work experience as a pharmacist
Meet the language requirements even if it is the minimum
Qualify to work in this particular occupation
Have a valid job offer from an employer in British Columbia.
After your application, you will be given a score based on how you will meet the criteria and requirements mentioned above and if you get a high score, you would be invited to come to the province.
Manitoba Provincial Nomination Program for In-demand Occupations
Manitoba is another province in Canada and as a pharmacist; you can apply through this program as they are highly needed in this province. Pharmacists are seen on the list of in-demand occupations in this province and so you stand a better chance of qualifying to immigrate to Canada as a pharmacist.
This Provincial Nomination Program works under the Express Entry system but it is not under it. What happens is that through this program, you can get a chance to be nominated from the Express Entry Draws. If you meet the criteria, you are one step ahead.
